“Either the sources were wrong, or Dave wasn’t being forthright. And I have no reason to think he wasn’t being honest with me.”

Tennessee plays Vanderbilt this week, looking for its first SEC win. In his third season at Tennessee, Dooley is 15-20 overall and just 4-18 in conference games—including an 0-6 mark this season and 1-7 last year.

“The hardest thing is they’re seeing things that are contrary to what their dad tells them,” Dooley said of the rumors of his job status affecting his family.